H.Essers acquires French-Norwegian company

Belgian logistics enterprise, H.Essers, has expanded its multimodal transport portfolio with its latest acquisition.

H.Essers earlier this month acquired Tank Management which specialises in liquid chemical transport services.

This transaction follows H.Essers' purchase of tank container business, Huktra, more than two years ago, delivering integrated and sustainable logistics solutions to the hazardous chemical goods industry.

The Tank Management family business was founded in Oslo in 2006 and has evolved into a European specialist in the temperature-controlled transport of liquid loads, specifically for the chemical and food industries. The transport is mainly organised by rail, apart from short sea and road. The company is a multimodal player, with offices in Oslo, Le Havre, Milan and Rotterdam.

Tank Management, according to H.Essers, has a turnover of €40 million, with 35 employees.  Its fleet comprises 800 modern ISO tanks capable of transporting liquids at different temperatures with a range going from -10° to +120°C. As with Huktra, all units are equipped with real-time track & trace. The temperature inside Tank Management’s fleet can be remotely monitored and controlled.

With this acquisition, H.Essers is greatly expanding the geographical footprint for liquid chemical logistics. Huktra already had branches in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Romania. The takeover of Tank Management has added France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia to the list.

With these additional regions, the service area is also being expanded. The multimodal transport range for liquid chemicals now extends throughout Europe, from Gibraltar to Moermansk, from Ireland to Urals, and beyond.

H.essers expects to focus on temperature controlled liquid transport tasks for the chemical industry as Tank Management provides heated and cooled transport of liquid pharma goods and food products.

“After the substantial growth Tank Management has recorded in recent years, it is now time for the next step,” the families Nordbo & Philippe, the owners of the Norwegian-French company said in a joint statement. “Thanks to the acquisition by a strong industrial player such as H.Essers, Tank Management will continue to excel in service, to grow and to expand its expertise in the coming years.”

H.Essers CEO, Gert Bervoets, also has strong confidence in the future.

“The acquisition of Tank Management fits into our strategy of sustainable development of synchromodality within the chemical segment,” said Bervoets.

“It enables us to offer our customers a new way of managing transport flows, which are not only more efficient but, thanks to this approach, also more sustainable. It’s a win-win situation for all parties: customers, logistics service providers and our community.

“Tank Management is a family business that shares our values.

“As is the case in our company, safety and quality are paramount. As an example, material and equipment are renewed with a high frequency, to ensure that the operations meet the most stringent standards and strictest requirements.

“We are very much looking forward to welcoming our new colleagues into the warm-hearted H.Essers family and to shaping our future together,” he said.

The acquisition was completed in July 2020 and the current Tank Management Directors will maintain their positions on the Board.

The focus in the first phase, according to H.Essers, is on the integration and consolidation towards one entity, specifically for conditioned liquids transport for the chemical industry.

This entity represents a turnover of €100 million euros and a fleet of 2,000 ISO tanks.

Earlier this year, H.Essers invests in LAG tipping silo tankers.

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